De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall, Leicester
|
|
| Address | Granville Road Leicester, England United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Owner | Leicester City Council |
| Type | concert hall/auditorium |
| Capacity | 400-2,200 (auditorium), 250-7000 (amphitheater) |
| Current use | Touring Venue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Years active | since 1913 |
| Architect | Shirley Harrison |
| Website | |
| http://www.demontforthall.co.uk/ | |
De Montfort Hall is a music and performance venue located in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
The Hall was built by the Corporation of Leicester in the early 20th century, and was finished in 1913 costing £21,000. The architect was Shirley Harrison (1876–1961) son of Stockdale Harrison, architect of Vaughan College.
Its indoor auditorium seating capacity is approximately 2000, and the hall contains a restored pipe organ believed to be the only surviving example of a large concert organ constructed by the Leicester organ builders, Stephen Taylor & Son Ltd, in 1914. The pipe organ is a particularly fine example and comprises 6000 pipes, attracting many distinguished organists to play recitals. In the 2014 the pipe organ was estimated to be worth over five million GBP.
The hall features in Grey Owl (film) in a real life reenactment of director Richard Attenborough and his brother David Attenborough's boyhood attendance of a wildlife lecture.
Most of the Hall's events take place in the indoor auditorium where the programme of events ranges from jazz, ballet, comedy and opera, to world and roots music, West End musicals and classical music, featuring the world famous Philharmonia Orchestra, which was set up by EMI and has been resident at the hall since 1997. The hall is said by the orchestra to be one of the best spaces in which to play music in England.
The Hall is also a common venue for the Leicester Philharmonic Choir, the Leicester Symphony Orchestra, the Bardi Symphony Orchestra and Bands which have performed several concerts there in the past.
It is also one of the major venues in Leicester to hold the Hindu festival of Navratri, selling out of tickets every year.
...
Wikipedia